Area News

Elderly Residents Will Be Top Priority Hidalgo County health officials, in partnership with the City of Mission, Hidalgo County Precinct 3 Commissioner’s Office and the Sharyland and Mission school districts will be hosting a COVID-19 community vaccine clinic on Wednesday, with registration starting today at noon. Eligible residents will be required to pre-register for the…

Hidalgo County continues to see COVID-19 hospitalization numbers not seen since last summer when area hospitals reached capacity due to the amount of COVID-19 patients being treated there. On Tuesday, county health officials reported 471 county residents in area hospitals to be treated for COVID-19 related complications. Of those patients, 191 of them are in…

Following an executive order issued last week by President Biden, U.S. Congressman Henry Cuellar announced in a Monday news release U.S. Customs and Border Protection contractors have been notified of a “pause” on border wall construction activities. The pause will only affect projects self-executed by CBP and will occur Wednesday, Jan. 27. “While CBP cannot speak on…

A limited amount of doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine will be given out tomorrow  at PSJA Memorial Early College HS in Alamo. The school, located on 800 S. Alamo Road, will be the site of the newest community vaccine clinic hosted by Hidalgo County health officials in conjunction with PSJA ISD, according to a Monday news…

758 new known cases of COVID-19 and 15 more deaths related to the disease were reported by county health officials Monday. With the new numbers, the total amount of known COVID-19 cases now stands at 60,971 with 2,068 of the cases still marked as active. Of the new cases, 379 of them were marked as…

Former Justice of the Peace Melo Ochoa — a judge who served western Hidalgo County for two decades before he pleaded guilty to bribery and resigned in disgrace — died on Friday. He was 74. Melo Ochoa, who had been hospitalized with COVID-19, died at approximately 1 a.m. Friday, said his daughter, Velma Ochoa. “He…

709 more people tested positive for COVID-19, Hidalgo County health officials said in a Friday news release that also revealed 21 more county residents have succumbed from complications related to the contagious disease. With the new numbers, the county reported that the total amount of reported COVID-19 cases in Hidalgo County now stands at 60,213 with…

Minerva Ramirez takes several weeks to design and create an outfit. The La Joya-based seamstress says she often forgoes sleep when she’s making a dress, spending hours laying in bed thinking of the details she wants to add to it before waking up to complete her project. “I’ve been doing this for 30 years,” Ramirez…

Creative costumes abound in annual TCF Product Costume Show Several dreams were represented and displayed at the 2021 Product Costume Show, put on by the Texas Citrus Fiesta, including that of Leyana Lee Gonzalez, who took first place in the Teen Division. Part of the tradition of festivities, the Product Costume Show is a competition…

1,000 more people in Hidalgo County received the coronavirus vaccine this week. This Wednesday, Jan. 20, Hidalgo County held its fourth vaccination clinic at Palmview High School, in conjunction with the La Joya Independent School District. Residents arrived early the day before, and within one hour of its announcement filled the parking lot to reserve…